Health and Fitness, Eexercise – Live Well

Creative ways to work out in the workplace

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06 Nov

2017

Is your schedule so tight that you wonder where you will find time for an exercise regime that can last both day-in, day-out and week-in, week-out? It might surprise you that you could actually find that time… during work hours. Yes, you can exercise at the workplace both effectively and discreetly – and here are several clever ways that you can do that without sacrificing your office productivity.

Shoulder shrugs

It turns out that shrugging your shoulders isn’t just something you can do when you can’t answer a colleague’s query about when the next deadline will be. Though, admittedly, you shouldn’t take that exact opportunity to try this exercise highlighted by Shape…

The exercise involves pulling the shoulders as high as possible before rolling them forward – and completing this sequence 10 times. Your colleague may insist they saw your shrug the first time…

Lower-body lifts

When already sitting in your usual office chair, you can make sure that you are sat upright and then stretch a leg straight out. After keeping this leg held in that place for 10 seconds, you can complete the process of going through this whole sequence six times with each leg.

Especially beneficial about this exercise is that, with your legs moving beneath the desk, many other people in the office might not even be able to see that you are doing it.

Copy machine callisthenics

If there’s a copy machine at which you often stand while waiting for your document copies to be printed, you could spend that waiting time trying some leg lifts and swings.

While holding the copy machine to keep your balance, lift one straight leg to the side or back, gradually lower it, and then change sides. You can also, with the right knee bent, spend 30 seconds swinging your leg forward and back. Then, repeat this with the other leg, says HowStuffWorks.

High profile aerobics

Want to ask a colleague a question? Then visit them instead of emailing them. Regularly heading off to get some water can also burn calories, while drinking the water could ease your weight loss mission, research suggests.

If you tend to ascend or descend multiple floors to reach where you need to be, use the stairs – and take two steps at a time for an even better workout. Also, you can speed up your heartbeat by keeping your walking fast without breaking into a run.

Arabesque circle exercises

If you often chat on the phone in a private office, these exercises are worth trying while you talk. Stand with feet apart at shoulder width, move weight to your left leg, lift your right leg behind you, grip your chair or desk to maintain balance, and – 25 times – gradually circle the left leg clockwise. Follow up with 25 counter-clockwise circles before switching legs.

If you haven’t used up your time-off allowance, you could also book a stay at a fitness boot camp – like one in Devon, Portugal or Spain run by Prestige Boot Camp.